Inflows lift Polar Capital assets to $2.6 bln

Date: Friday, July 16, 2010
Author: Laurence Fletcher, Reuters

* Assets up 2.5 pct to $2.6 bln over 3 months to June

Hedge fund firm Polar Capital (POLR.L) said client assets under management rose 2.5 percent in the three months to June, with client inflows more than offsetting fund losses from recent market volatility. The firm, which ran nearly $4 billion in late 2007 before the nadir of the credit crisis, said assets rose to $2.6 billion, helped by net inflows of $319 million into its hedge funds and long-only funds. Flows were helped by the launch last month of Polar's Global Healthcare Growth and Income trust PCGH.L, a listed fund, which raised 89 million pounds ($136.6 million). Investors are still returning to investment funds, albeit more cautiously, despite a recent bout of market turbulence that has seen the FTSE 100 .FTSE fall from more than 5,800 in April to less than 4,800 this month.

The fund firm posted $257 million losses on investments due to currencyand performance effects. On Friday fixed income fund manager BlueBay reported net inflows of $300 million over the three months to June, although this was well down on previous quarters. [ID:nLDE66E1T9]

Polar's shares were unchanged at 90.5 pence at 0840 GMT. (To read the Reuters Funds Blog click on blogs.reuters.com/fundshub; for the Global Investing Blog click here) ($1=.6514 Pound)